Hey all, so I found a truck for my wife. Downfall is it’s 1800 miles away with a private seller.
Ideas on how I can do this without actually going out there?

When I did my purchase a few yrs back it was a small dealer. Wired funds and had shipper pick it up.

I would like to do the same here but being a private seller, obviously some concerns. They haven’t given me any thought.

I could drive out there with my trailer and take care of it, only problem is I’ve already put over 5300 miles on my truck this month. Last thing I want is more windshield time lol.

Flying out ain’t an option. I’d rather drive then fly 😁

 

I trust private sellers more than dealers. problem is some sellers are honest they just simply don't know as much as they should.

Where is it? maybe a member here is close. or there are vehicle inspectors you can hire and it's not that expensive.

 

Montana. My problem is I'm an honest guy and think everyone I deal with is as well. Kinda scary to mail a check and hope it works out.
I did think about asking a dealership to be the middle man. Viable?

 

Zag,
Several members here had good ideas on this same issue for me recently. One of the best may have been from a friend. He suggested using FaceTime to review the truck details? I have not tried this yet but it could work well to see details on a far away truck. On the shipping I am considering a private shipper/hauler with a enclosed trailer. That's about my only option as I cant drive to look at the truck. All this is if the owner and I come to agreement. I think if it's meant to be, it will happen! I also have a chance that a family member can lay eyes on the truck in the near future. If it helps I could give you the haulers number. His rates seemed reasonable. You can P.M. me.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

 

Appreciate it. May take ya up on it. I did some online ones, cheapest was $1700.
My biggest concern is how to pay the private seller without going there.

 

Unless it's a high dollar restoration, I would be comfortable with seeing enough video and pictures. I can usually tell in a couple pictures if I'm interested, and with a good set of pictures like on BAT I know for 99% sure what I'm looking at. it's pretty easy to determine if the seller is honest, or honest but ignorant, or just a liar if you ask the right questions and read between the lines.

If you want to post pictures here there are plenty of people to pick it apart. you may not get all the answers you seek but you'll know what to ask and look for. these are pretty simple rigs, and if hacks have been messing with it that's as good of reason as rust to run away screaming like your teeth are on fire.

 

No Submarines or Riverboats going that way?

I sold my '74 Triumph Trident @ $5500 to a fellow way down in Florida, he sent me a Cashiers Check, I took it to MY Bank, once it cleared, I sent him the Seller completed portion Title with his name / address completed as assigned by me, .... and his chosen shipper called a few days later and we set up time / date to fit his schedule. I helped load it, made sure gas was out of it, included a tub of spare stuff. We secured it up front in his enclosed trailer after backing a '50s MB Gull Wing off.

Once you decide to purchase long distance, a certain element of trust will attach.

 

X2 see if you can get a local dealership to be the middle man and get a real mechanic eyes on it, that might be the way to go. And the Face time idea sounds cool also. But how to trust a local dealership....No way NO how would I buy a truck actual sight unseen, let alone test driven. And NO would I send a check in in the mail and hope for the best.

If you get the insp and shipping part figured out, maybe your bank can send the $ to his bank (but hold releasing the funds) until either the shipped pickes up the truck. Like when the trucks front wheels hit his trailer and he has signed title in hand, you call the bank to release the funds.

99% of the time trust is earned, not given.

 

It depends a lot on what you're buying and what you expect to get. if you know the engine needs rebuilt who cares what condition it's in. if you're buying a restored rig then I'd probably want to see it. not knowing anything about what you're buying real advice is hard to give, there are too many variables.

I have bought several rigs unseen, and I've sold them all over the nation unseen by the buyer. I've never had an issue either way.

 

The big issue, as like you, I'm an honest person, the first truck I sold to be shipped, to Boston! Was my 1966 F250, and this was way back, like 2003 or 4 I think, I took tons of pictures, showed him every ding and dang and anything I could think of that I would want to know and not be a surprise when it arrived to him, the buyer, Tom, was super pleased when the truck made the journey and he got it, he even said "wow, it's way better than you described it" All that to say, it's hard to tell who you're dealing with long distance, I would definitely engage him in some conversations, yes, big + now is we have face time so you can have him walk around, crawl under, over and everything you want to see. If he's not willing to do that, or have conversations, to me, that's sketch... I have bought and sold probably 60-80 trucks, had at least 10-15 shipped, and I can say to 99.999% that all the buyers were happy. I took the time to take any pictures they wanted and anything I could do to help ease the stress of a no-see-it purchase, again, if the seller is not willing to spend time to put you at ease, I would walk. If any of my buyers had wanted a mechanic to inspect it, I would have facilitated that any way I could.

Yes, get any and all pictures of truck, post them up, you'll get a slew of thoughts and opinions, maybe there is an FTE member close that would be willing to go check it out... if not, definitely face time a walk around, under and over.

Get a feel for the seller, like stated earlier, some are informed, some are clueless about trucks and only know what they are told, and some are just outright liar's, you've got to talk to them and figure out which one your dealing with, unfortunately without the in person meet.

Ask Patpat, for some reason it's not coming up with his un when I type @ he bought a 1979 F250 4x from me he shipped to Germany, I think I did a pretty good job of communicating with/to him about the truck, maybe he could give you some input on what to ask or anything he did to feel comfortable with it, I think I missed showing him the roof on his, or it still had the headliner in and it had a crease in the support IIRC...
@@PatpätP

 

Here’s some pics.
Bones look good, engine is a 400 jasper with a c6. Says 4-5k miles on it. From what I gather it was a project but the guy is older now and can’t finish now.
Looks like the body has been pieced together. Looks like fresh paint should complete it for the most part.
Whats it worth? 7-10k?

 

Nice truck, I would want to see the paper title vin, the dvrs side door edge Warrenty plate w/vin and then the drvs B pillar white sticker w/vin and then last but not least the frame vin. Does it all match? Might not matter to some, but it does to me and my state DMV requirments.

 

I like the truck. It will need some finishing as you have mentioned. As Rich mentioned the numbers should match. I had one recently where the door warranty number and the frame number did not match by one number. The owner did not know. Determined to be a stamping error from the Ford Assembly line but could have been a problem if pushed. I did not get a chance to look at the truck due to distance and health issues. As far as price I think your in the range. Would be a nice truck when finished. I would plan to put that much more into it. Paint is not cheap. Lots of folks on here have way more experience than me! Good luck!
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

 

looks pretty decent at first glance , but I'd want to see more.

Been sprayed underneath, might be a good thing, might be hiding something.

Don't like the steering wheel , the seat has a strange cover . don't like the Ronco air cleaner. but not big deals. the firewall either is in really nice condition or it kind of looks repainted. again, the start of a nice restoration? or is new paint hiding something?

The price range seems about right. I would ask to see more, but no red flags yet.

 

Fly to MT
Inspect the truck yourself
Be aware
Montana is a rust state (they salt the roads in winter)
Look for one in AZ or NM